The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1887-08-17
Was it : Deliberately Planned Case Of
Train WrsCklDg?
Human Hysnas Plumber the Dsad, Taking
the Shoes Which Covered Their Feel.
The Awful Deed OF q Crazed Husband
and Father-CompIete List of the
Killed and Injured.

CHICAGO, August 1.-The Chicago Times
special from Forest, H., says: All the
railway horrors in the history of this coun-
Try were surpassed three miles east of
Chstsworth last night, when an excursion
train on the Toledo, Peoria and Western
road dropped through a burning bridge
and over one hundred people were killed
and four times that number more or less
badly injured. The train was composed of
six sleeping cars, day coaches and chair
cars and three baggage. 1t was carrying
go passengers, all excursionists, and was
bound for Niagara Falls. The train had
been made up all along the line of the To-
ledo, Peoria and Western rood, and the
excursionists hailed from various points in
Central Illinois, the bulk of them, how.
ever, coming from Peoria. Some of the
passengers came from Canton, from FL
Paso, Washington, and in fact ali stations
along the line; some from as far
west as Burlington and Keokuk, Iowa. A
special and cheap rate had been made for
the excursion and all sorts of people took
advantage OF il. When the train drew out
of Peoria at O'Clock last evening, it was
loaded to its utmost capacity. Every berth
in the six sleepers was taken and the day
cars carried sixty people each. The train
was 30 heavy that two engines were hitched
to it, and when it passed this place 1t was
an hour and a half behind time.
Chatsworth, the next station east OF
here, is six miles of, and the run there was
made in seven minutes; so the terrible mo-
mentum OF those fifteen coaches and two
heavy engines shooting through space at
the rate OF a mile minute can be under
stood. No stop was made at Chatsworth,
and on and on the heavy train with its liv-
ing freight sped through the darkness OF
the night. Three miles efst of Chats-
worth is little slough and where the rail-
road track crosses dry run Ibout ten feet
deep and fifteen feet wide. Over this was
stretched an ordinary wooden trestle
bridge, and, as the excursion train came
laundering down on it, what was the hor-
ror of the engineer of the front engine
when ne saw that this bridge was afre.
Right up before his eyes leaped the bright
flames, and the next instant he was among
them. There was no chance to stop. Had
there been warning it would have taken
half mile to stop that on-rushing mass OF
wood. iron and human lives, and the train
was within 100 yards of the red-tongued
messengers OF death before they flashed
their fatal signals into the engineers face
But he passed over in safety, the first en-
CINE keeping the rails. As ID went over
the bridge fell beneath 1t and 1t could only
have been the terrific speed of the train
which saved the lives OF the engineer and
his fireman. But the next engine went
down and instantly the deed OF death was
done. Car crashed into car; coaches piled
one on top OF another and In twinkling
of an eye, nearly one hundred people
found instant death and fifty more were SO
hurt they could not live. As for the
wounded, they were everywhere. Only
the sleeping coaches escaped and as the
startled and half dressed passengers came
iumbling ont of them thsy found
SUCH SCENE or DSATH
rs is rarely witnessed, and such work to
do, that 1t seemed as Il human hands
were utterly incapable. 1t lacked but five
minutes OF midnight. Down In the ditch
lay the second engine, engineer McClin-
took dead, and firemsn Apologize badly
injured. On top were piled the three bag
gage cars, one on top of another, like q
childs card house after ne has swept 1t
with bis hand. Then comes the six day
cosobes- They were telsscoped ss cars
nsTsr we're bsiors, t7d inv Of them were